TEHRAN (FNA)- Head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Morteza Barari announced on Sunday that the country has assumed chairmanship of the Group 77 at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

Barari made the announcement today at a ceremony marking the country’s national day of space technology.

“Following the interactions between the ICT Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a bid to strengthen Iran's international cooperation, and through the efforts of our experts at the Iranian Space Agency, the chairmanship of the Group of 77 at United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was handed over to Iran this week,” he said.

The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was established in 1959, with 87 active members as of 2017. Its mission is "to review the scope of international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, to devise programs in this field to be undertaken under United Nations auspices, to encourage continued research and the dissemination of information on outer space matters, and to study legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space."

Elsewhere, Barari announced the establishment of a space-based technology part in Iran last week.

He also maintained that there are six multipurpose stations for receiving satellite images, located in Mahdasht, Chenaran, Bushehr, Qeshm and Salmas. He added that the Space Agency has plans to use the information received from these stations in both domestic satellites and also to render services to the satellites of other countries.

In a related front, on the same day, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi announced Iran's plans to launch a new home-made satellite named Dousti (Friendship) into the orbit in the near future.

"Dousti satellite, manufactured by Sharif University of Technology, with an average resolution of 10 meters will be launched," Azari Jahromi said, addressing a ceremony on the occasion of the National Day of Space Technology in Tehran today.

He added that another satellite named Zafar, being developed by the University of Science and Technology, should also be completed by the end of summer 2019 and become ready for launch.

Azari Jahromi also rejected certain foreign states' propaganda against Iran's space activities, noting that his nation's space program is fully peaceful and meant for peaceful goals.

Iran is one of the 9 superior states in building satellites beside the US, Russia, Europe and Canada.

Barari had announced in mid-December that his country's plans to manufacture a home-made telecommunication satellite in the next few years.

"Building an indigenized telecommunication satellite within the next 7 years is atop the ISA's plans," Barari said.

He added that the preliminary steps had already been taken by Iran to manufacture a telecommunication satellite by building Nahid 1 and Nahid 2 satellites.

Barari underlined that Iran also planned to build a sensing satellite with a 1-meter precision power in 7 years.

Barari had also announced in October that his country was standing among the 9 top world countries in developing satellites.

He also added that Iran ranked first in the region in the aerospace sector, explaining that Iran ranked 14th in the world in 2016 but it jumped three grades and ranked 11th in the world in 2017.